Car crashes into day care building; none hurt

Police search for hit-and-run suspect.

Police search for hit-and-run suspect.

March 08, 2006|ALICIA GALLEGOS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Thank goodness the cook went home sick. If she hadn't, day care owner Betty Williams says, it's very likely a group of 3-year-olds would have been inside the room a speeding car crashed into Tuesday morning. "That could've been disastrous," Williams said. "Normally they would be in that classroom, except today." Because the cook wasn't at work, a teacher had gone into the kitchen to make food after first moving the 3-year-olds to another room, the owner explained. Minutes later, a 1987 brown Chrysler heading west on Lincoln Way West went off the road, striking a cement planter, then a sign, and smashing clear through a wall at Kidz Kompany Daycare Center, 2301 Lincoln Way W. Williams heard the crash and combed through fallen coat lockers to reach the room. "The whole car was sitting in the building," she said. Shocked witnesses watched the female driver jump from the vehicle and reportedly run from the scene through the demolished open space. Staff moved children in connecting rooms farther away, and employees, along with police, checked the area for any injured children, just to be safe. In a panic, Williams kneeled down on her hands and knees searching under the car. "I knew all the children (were) fine," she said. "It still didn't keep me from looking." A group of 28 children were inside the building at the time. They were eventually moved to another Kidz Kompany location. The Lincoln Way West day care has been at the facility for six years and has a total of 62 children enrolled. Police are still looking for the hit-and-run suspect. A teacher followed the woman after she fled the scene but lost her inside a neighborhood, Williams said. WSBT-TV reported that brakes on the vehicle had failed. Police reportedly have a suspect but haven't yet made an arrest. Cleaning crews worked throughout the day to fix the crushed wall in front of Kidz Kompany and sweep up shattered glass. Despite the frightening experience, Williams said the most important thing was that no one was hurt. "We were blessed," she said, standing in the damaged classroom Tuesday afternoon. Another worker looked up. "Amen," she said.Staff writer Alicia Gallegos: agallegos@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6368